TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - The Japan stock market bounced higher again on Tuesday, one session after ending the two-day winning streak in which it had jumped more than 900 points or 1.8 percent. The Nikkei 225 now sits just above the 57,320-point plateau and it may add to its winnings on Wednesday.
The global forecast for the Asian markets is cautiously optimistic, with technology shares likely to lead the markets higher. The European markets were mixed and flat and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.
The Nikkei finished modestly higher on Tuesday following mixed performances from the automobile and technology companies, while the financial sector was soft.
For the day, the index advanced 495.39 points or 0.87 percent to finish at 57,321.09 after trading between 56,732.93 and 57,421.67.
Among the actives, Nissan Motor tumbled 1.98 percent, while Mazda Motor tanked 2.42 percent, Toyota Motor added 0.58 percent, Softbank Group plunged 5.38 percent, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial stumbled 1.84 percent, Mizuho Financial cratered 3.41 percent, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial retreated 2.60 percent, Mitsubishi Electric climbed 1.13 percent, Sony Group dropped 0.90 percent, Panasonic Holdings contracted 2.05 percent, Hitachi surrendered 2.37 percent and Honda Motor was unchanged.
The lead from Wall Street is positive as the markets opened flat on Tuesday but quickly trended upward and spent the balance of the day in positive territory, ending near session highs.
The Dow soared 370.44 points or 0.76 percent to finish at 49,174.50, while the NASDAQ rallied 236.41 points or 1.04 percent to end at 22,863.68 and the S&P 500 gained 52.32 points or 0.77 percent to close at 6,890.07.
The strength on Wall Street reflected bargain hunting, as some traders looked to pick up stocks at relatively reduced levels following the steep drop on Monday when the Dow fell to a one-month low.
Semiconductor stocks lead the move back to the upside, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index jumping by 1.5 percent to a new record closing high. Significant strength was also visible among networking, gold, airline and software stocks.
In U.S. economic news, the Conference Board showed an unexpected improvement in U.S. consumer confidence in February as its consumer confidence index rose to 91.2 from an upwardly revised 89.0 in January.
Crude oil prices fell slumped Tuesday as traders continue to evaluate the potential turbulence in the trade tariff environment following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on reciprocal tariffs. West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery sank $0.71 or 1.1 percent to $66.31 a barrel.
Closer to home, Japan will see producer price data for January later this morning, with forecasts expecting no change at an annual 2.6 percent.
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